Heretofore it has been well known to provide pods or packages for shipping and/or storing of prepasted orthodontic appliances such as brackets and the like.
Pods for shipping of prepasted brackets are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,007 and particular in FIGS. 9 and 11. The embodiment in FIG. 9 shows a prepasted bracket engaging the bottom of the pod while the embodiment of FIG. 11 shows a prepasted bracket having an alignment device or a jig connected to the bracket to suspend the bracket above the base of the pod so that the adhesive on the back of the bracket does not touch the bottom or walls of the pod. Other prior art patents showing the packaging of a prepasted orthodontic appliance or bracket in a pod include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,979,611, 5,221,202, 5,328,363, 5,348,154, 5,538,129, 5,762,192, 6,960,079, 7,381,053 and 7,726,470. With respect to prior known pods where the prepasted bracket engages the bottom of the pod it is always possible to leave a portion of the bonding material in the pod when removing the appliance from the pod and in those cases insufficient bonding material may be left on the appliance to compromise the bond of the appliance to a tooth.
With respect to pods having means for supporting and suspending the prepasted appliance above the bottom of the pod such as by means of a jig or alignment device, there are many clinicians that do not favor having a jig mounted on the bracket when transferring the bracket from a pod to a tooth after which the jig must be removed. It is preferred to just have the bracket jigless which would facilitate the speed of mounting the bracket on a tooth and not having to remove the jig from the bracket once it is on a tooth. Moreover, sometimes that becomes an issue relative to proper placement of a bracket on a tooth, particularly when the adhesive is uncured and must thereafter be cured.
It has also been known to provide a pod where the bracket is spaced on the very bottom of the pod on upstanding ridges as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,202 but this pod is objectionable in as much as it does not include means within the pod to prevent the pod from moving within the pod during shipping and/or storing where the bonding material on the base of the appliance may be disturbed and/or minimized, thereby compromising the bond on the tooth, and merely resting the uncured adhesive on the ridges tends to disturb the adhesive layer.
It will be appreciated that some heretofore otherwise known pods or containers for prepasted appliances are such that disturbance of the uncured adhesive or removal of portions of the adhesive will impair the integrity of the bond on the tooth. The prior art showing pods with supporting structures to engage in areas between the tie wings and the base include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,089,861 and 7,381,051. However, these pods do not have the supporting structure connected to the lid or cover of the pod and therefore opening of the lid does not also retrieve the prepasted appliance from the pod for easy handling by the user for mounting the appliance on a tooth. As above mentioned jig mounted prepasted appliances as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,172,809 and 7,469,783, while suspending a prepasted appliance within a pod, require removal from the pod by engaging the jig, and after the appliance is mounted on a tooth it is necessary to ultimately remove the jig from the bracket before it can be used in a system.